Fixture set

ABSTRACT

A fixture set includes an accessory part, and at least one means for fixing the accessory part to a front surface of a wall of a hollow frame, through a hole provided through the wall. The fixing means includes an anchor, a bolt screwed into the anchor and a splitter arranged between the head of the bolt and the anchor. The anchor is entirely inserted in the hole and includes at least two parts which are radially expandable by the splitter, when tightening the bolt, to lock the anchor against the back surface of the wall. The splitter and the anchor include mutually interlockable structures for substantially restricting rotation of the anchor relative to the splitter. The accessory part, or an intermediate accessory piece arranged between the accessory part and the wall, includes a solid connection for substantially restricting rotation of the splitter relative to the accessory part.

This is a Divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/832,610,filed Jul. 8, 2010, which a Divisional of U.S. patent application Ser.No. 11/458,699, filed Jul. 20, 2006, the disclosures of all of which areincorporated herein by reference.

The present invention relates to a fixture set comprising an accessorypart, and at least one means for fixing the accessory part to a frontsurface of a wall through a hole provided through said wall. The fixingmeans comprises an anchor, a bolt screwed into the anchor and a splitterarranged between the head of the bolt and the anchor. The anchor isentirely inserted in the hole in the wall and comprises at least twoparts which are radially expandable by the splitter, when tightening thebolt, to lock the anchor against the back surface of the wall. Both thesplitter and the anchor comprise mutually interlockable structures forsubstantially restricting rotation of the anchor relative to thesplitter.

The fixture set is especially intended to fix accessories to one of thewalls of a hollow frame or more generally to a plate-like wall, the backside of which is not accessible. Fixing accessories to such a wallconstitutes a well known problem. The use of mere screws often does notprovide sufficient strength to the fixing or requires specific screwingtools, whereas the use of “bolt and nut” fixing systems involves theproblem of putting and holding the nut or anchor in place on the backside of the wall.

Fixing devices have been proposed, comprising a threaded bolt and ananchor, the anchor being insertable through a hole in the wall andthreaded so as to be screwable to the bolt, whereas special means areprovided to expand the anchor and restrict its rotation when screwingthe bolt to the anchor, so that the anchor locks against the backsurface of the wall.

One such fixing device is disclosed in the first embodiment of Germanpatent application DE 27 54 910 A1. This fixing device comprises a bolthaving a bolt head and an at least partially threaded shaft. The bolt isscrewed in an anchor which is sized for being completely insertablethrough a hole in the wall and which comprises radially expandableparts. The fixing device further comprises a splitter which isinterposed between the bolt head and the anchor, and which is sized forbeing partially axially insertable through the hole in the wall. Thesplitter and the anchor are shaped so as to restrict the rotation of theanchor relative to the splitter and to radially expand the expandableparts of the anchor when said splitter is urged to penetrate in betweenthese parts when tightening the bolt until the free ends of theexpandable parts engage the back surface of the wall.

This prior art, however, has the drawback that the splitter needs to beheld with a separate suitably shaped spanner to prevent it from rotatingwith the anchor when the bolt is screwed to the anchor. This could beawkward or even impossible depending on the shape and position of theaccessory part to be fixed. Moreover, it is a quite complex job for oneperson to hold the spanner and at the same time the accessory part whilescrewing the bolt, usually with an electric screwing tool, into theanchor.

An alternative, disclosed in the second embodiment of DE 27 54 910, andin German utility model DE 94 22 153 U, is to press-fit the splitterinto the hole in the wall so as to prevent rotation thereof. In thisway, the accessory part can be screwed much more easily by means of thebolts to the pre-installed anchors. However, this alternative has thedrawbacks of being able to hold the splitter only against moderatetorques and being unsuitable for use on thin or soft walls. If a solidfixation has to be achieved, the expandable parts of the anchor shouldbe made quite robust so that high torques must be exerted onto the boltto enable to expand the expandable parts of the anchor.

It is the purpose of this invention to provide a fixture set, comprisingat least an accessory part and at least one means for fixing theaccessory part to the front side of a wall through a hole provided inthe wall, said fixing means being of the type comprising a bolt, ananchor and a splitter, wherein the fixture set is easy to fix andwherein an anchor having quite robust expandable parts can be used, evenon thin or soft walls without requiring special tools to avoid rotationof the splitter.

To achieve this purpose the fixing device according to the invention ischaracterised in that it optionally comprises an intermediate accessorypiece arranged to be fixed between the accessory part and the frontsurface of said wall, and the accessory part or the intermediateaccessory piece comprises means for substantially restricting rotationof said splitter relative to said accessory part or intermediateaccessory piece.

In this way, only the accessory part and optionally the intermediateaccessory piece have to be held in place while screwing the bolt intothe anchor. Rotation of the splitter and therefore also of the anchor isindeed avoided by the fact that the splitter cannot rotate with respectto the accessory part or the intermediate accessory piece or only over asmall angle, for example over an angle smaller than 45°.

The optional intermediate accessory piece is for example in the form ofa plate-like piece which is interposed between the back side of theaccessory piece and the wall to which the accessory part is to be fixed.The optionally intermediate accessory piece may be fixed, for example byscrewing or welding, to the back of the accessory piece so that only theaccessory part has to be held against the wall. Even when not fixed tothe accessory part, the intermediate accessory piece can be held easilytogether with the accessory part to the wall, especially when two ormore fixing means are provided since these fixing means prevent anyrotation of the intermediate accessory piece with respect to theaccessory part.

According to at least one embodiment of the invention, said means forsubstantially restricting rotation comprise a solid connection to thesplitter, the splitter preferably being an integral part of theaccessory part or of the intermediate accessory piece and in particularformed in one piece with the accessory part or with the intermediateaccessory piece. This arrangement not only has the advantage of morereliably restricting rotation of the splitter, but also of reducing thenumber of parts, simplifying the fixture set.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the hole in theaccessory part has a widened inlet opening wherein the bolt head can beaccommodated. This has the advantage of allowing a flat, protrusion-freesurface on the mounted accessory part.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the bolt isexternally threaded and the anchor is internally threaded. Thisarrangement has the advantage of simplicity, although an alternativeembodiment in which the bolt comprises an internally threaded axialbore, and the anchor an externally threaded shaft is also possible.

According to preferred features of the invention, said splitter maycomprise at least one rib provided to engage in at least one slit onsaid anchor to substantially restrict rotation of said anchor andsplitter relative to each other.

According to a further preferred feature of the invention, the splitteris a moulded piece, made of a plastic material but preferably of a castmetal such as zamac.

The invention also relates to a method for fixing an accessory partaccording to the invention to a wall.

The invention will now be described in more detail, in a non limitingway, having reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGS. 1 and 2 are a perspective view and an exploded view of a fixtureset comprising an accessory part, more particularly a door keeper/lockbolt reception element, which is fixed to a wall of a hollow post orframe, FIG. 1A showing a detail view of the fixing device;

FIGS. 3A and 3B are perspective top and bottom views of the splitter ofthe fixture set illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, which splitter has asquare head and conical wedge surfaces with ribs;

FIGS. 4A and 4B are perspective top and bottom views of the expandablethreaded anchor of the fixture set illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the back of the accessory part of thefixture set illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, the accessory part havingrecesses arranged to receive the heads of the splitters of two fixingdevices;

FIG. 6 is an exploded view of a fixture set wherein the accessory partis a bolt which is to be fixed to a gate frame;

FIG. 7 is an exploded view of a fixture set wherein the accessory partsare hinge parts to be fixed to a hollow post and to a gate frame andused mount a door closer by means of pivots to the gate;

FIGS. 8 and 9 are perspective views of a fixture set wherein theaccessory part is a clamp suited for fixing a grill to a hollow post toform a fence;

FIGS. 10 and 11 are perspective views of a fixture set according to theinvention, in which two splitters are integrally formed in one piecewith the accessory part, more particularly a door keeper/lock boltreception element; and

FIG. 12 is an exploded view of a fixture set, comprising a boltreception element of a sliding door which is to be fixed to the wall ofa hollow post, the fixture set comprising an intermediate accessorypieces to be fixed between the accessory part and the post and showingthe recesses arranged to receive the heads of the splitters.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a fixture set fixed onto a wall of ahollow post or frame 1. This fixture set comprises an accessory part 2,which, in the non limiting example represented in this drawing, consistsof a door keeper/bolt reception element, fixed against the front surfaceof one of the walls of the hollow frame 1. The accessory part 2 is fixedto the hollow frame 1 by means of two fixing means which extend througha hole 6 in said wall. Each of the fixing means comprises a standardexternally threaded bolt 3, a splitter 4 (which is in this case a partseparate from the accessory part), and an internally threaded anchor 5.As can be seen more clearly in FIG. 1 a, the anchor 5, in its expandedposition, is held by the bolt 3, by means of the screw thread, againstthe inside surface of the wall, thus anchoring the whole fixture set.

FIG. 2 shows an exploded view of the elements of assembly of FIG. 1,before assembly. The screw threads of the bolt 3 and the anchor 5, whichwere not shown in the schematic representation of FIG. 1, are visible inthe exploded view of FIG. 2. As can also be seen in FIG. 2, the anchors5, in their unexpanded form, can be inserted in the circular holes 6drilled in the wall of the hollow frame 1 whilst the splitters 4 canonly be partially inserted in these holes 6. The splitter 4 and theanchor 5 are shown in more detail in FIGS. 3A and 3B and in FIGS. 4A and4B respectively.

The splitter 4 comprises a non circular portion, more particularly anon-circular head 7, in this case square, which is larger than the holes6 in the hollow frame. The portion of the splitter 4 which is insertedinto the hollow frame has conical wedge surfaces 8 separated by ribs 9.

The illustrated anchor 5 globally consists of a hollow cylindercomprising a threaded bottom part 10, with four slits 11 forming parts12 which can be radially expanded by means of the splitter 4.

The splitter 4 and anchor 5 are shaped so that, when urged against eachother, the ribs 9 of the splitter 4 engage the slits 11 of the anchor 5,substantially restricting rotation of the anchor 5 relative to thesplitter 4, and the conical wedge surfaces 8 of the splitter 4 force theexpandable parts 12 of the anchor 5 outwards, thus expanding the outerdiameter of the anchor 5 to a size lager than the diameter of the holes6 in the hollow frame.

Turning now to FIG. 5, it can be seen that the back side of theaccessory part 2 comprises two square recesses 13 arranged to receivethe square heads 7 of two splitters 4. When the square splitter heads 7are inserted into those recesses 13, their form-locking engagementsubstantially restricts rotation of the splitters 4 relative to theaccessory part 2. Although in FIG. 5 the recesses are illustrated assquare, any non-circular form that would restrict rotation of thesplitter heads 7 could be considered. The non-circular portion of thesplitter could also be formed of two or more projections onto thesplitter which are received in corresponding recesses in the accessorypart. Since there are two or more projections, each of them may even becircular. Moreover, the recess 13 in the accessory part may, forinstance, also be formed by a single elongated groove which canaccommodate several splitter heads 7 and hold them against rotation.Such an embodiment is illustrated in FIG. 6 wherein the accessory part 2is a bolt and in FIG. 7 wherein the accessory part 2 is a hinge partused to fix a door closer, by means of pivots 14, to a hollow gate frame1 and to a hollow gate post 1. It is clear that the hinge parts 2, orsimilar hinge parts, can also be used to hinge for example the gateitself to the post. An advantage of making the recesses 13 in the formof an elongated groove is that such a groove can easily be obtained whenproducing the accessory part by an extrusion process.

FIGS. 8 and 9 illustrate another fixture set wherein the accessory part2 comprises a clamp 15 which is to be fixed to hollow fence post andwhich is arranged to fix grill panels 16 in an aesthetic and veryreliable way to the fence posts.

For fixing the accessory part 2 to the hollow frame 1, the bolts 3 arefirst introduced through holes in the accessory part 2, and thenassembled with the splitters 4 and the anchors 5; the square heads 7 ofthe splitters thereby fit into the square recess 13 or elongated grooveof the accessory part 2.

The fixture set comprising the accessory part 2, bolts 3, splitters 4and anchors 5 is then placed onto the front surface of the wall of theframe 1, with the fixing means introduced through the correspondingholes 6 in the wall.

As may be readily perceived from FIG. 1A, when tightening the bolts 3,the anchors 5 will be held against rotation by their slits 11 inengagement with the ribs 9 of the splitters 4, and the splitters 4 willbe themselves held against rotation by the splitter heads 7 inengagement with the recesses 13 of the accessory part 2. As aconsequence the radially expandable parts 12 of the anchor 5 will bepushed against the conical wedge surfaces 8 of the splitter 4 and causethese to expand outwards and ultimately tightly fix themselves againstthe back side of the wall of the hollow frame 1.

Instead of using a form-locking device for restricting rotation of thesplitter 4 with respect to the accessory part, it is possible torestrict the rotation of the splitter 4 relative to the accessory part 2with a solid connection between them. Such an embodiment of theinvention is illustrated in FIGS. 8 and 9. In this embodiment twosplitters 4 are integrally formed (in one piece) with the accessory part2. The splitters and the accessory part are more particularly moulded ina die, for example injection moulded from a plastic material or producedby metal casting or forging.

FIG. 12 illustrates another alternative, in which an intermediateaccessory piece 17 is fixed by means of two screws 18 to the back sideof the actual accessory part 2. This accessory part 2 is a boltreception element for a sliding door (as described in U.S. Pat. No.6,931,897) and is made of quite robust steel material. To avoid havingto provide recesses in the back side of this accessory part 2, therecesses 13 (more particularly holes) are provided in the intermediateaccessory piece 17 which is arranged between the back of the accessorypart 2 and the wall of the hollow post 1 to which it is to be fixed. Theintermediate accessory piece has edges which coincide with the edges ofthe accessory part so that it can easily be held together with theaccessory part, even if it would not be fixed to the accessory part.Moreover, due to the fact that there are two (or more) fixing meanswhich may be preassembled, the intermediate accessory piece 17 ispositioned by these fixing means in the right position with respect ofthe accessory part, even if it would have a different shape.

In the same way as the accessory part, the intermediate accessory piecemay be moulded in a die, in particular of a plastic material or ofmetal, and the splitters 4 of the fixing means may be solidly connectedto the intermediate accessory piece, in particular by forming (moreparticularly moulding) them in one piece or by fixing the splitters 4 bya welding process or mechanically, for example by means of screws, tothe intermediate accessory piece.

For a skilled person it will be clear that the above describedembodiments can further be modified without leaving the scope of theinvention as defined by the claims.

1. A method of fixing an accessory part to a wall through at least onehole provided therein, the wall having a front surface and a backsurface, the method comprising the steps of: providing a fixture setcomprising the accessory part, an optional intermediate accessory pieceand fixing means for fixing the accessory part to the front surface ofthe wall, the fixing means comprising: a bolt having a bolt head and anat least partially threaded bolt shaft; a threaded anchor attachable tothe at least partially threaded bolt shaft, the anchor comprising atleast two radially expandable parts having a free end; and a splittercomprising an opening arranged to receive the at least partiallythreaded bolt shaft, the splitter being arranged to provide at least onewedge surface for radially expanding the at least two radiallyexpandable parts of the anchor, the splitter and anchor furthercomprising mutually interlockable structures for substantiallyrestricting rotation of the anchor relative to the splitter; insertingthe at least partially threaded bolt shaft through a hole formed in theaccessory part and into the opening in the splitter; mounting the anchorto the bolt shaft with the splitter interposed between the bolt head andthe anchor; axially inserting the anchor completely through the holeformed in the wall; at least partially axially inserting the splitterinto the hole formed in the wall; placing the accessory part against thefront surface of the wall; and tightening the bolt by screwing the boltshaft into the anchor; wherein the step of tightening the boltcomprises: substantially restricting rotation of the anchor relative tothe splitter by means of the mutually interlockable structures as thebolt is tightened within the anchor; restricting rotation of thesplitter by providing a solid connection between the accessory part orthe optional intermediate accessory piece and the splitter; urging thesplitter to penetrate the anchor between the at least two radiallyexpandable parts thereof; expanding the at least two radially expandableparts of the anchor using the at least one wedge surface on the splitteruntil the expandable parts are at least partially expanded; and lockingthe anchor against the back surface of the wall due to engagement of thefree ends of the expanded anchor parts with the back surface of thewall.
 2. A method according to claim 1, wherein the step of providingthe solid connection between the accessory part or the intermediateaccessory piece comprises forming the accessory part or the intermediateaccessory piece in one piece with the splitter.
 3. A method according toclaim 1, wherein the step of providing the solid connection between theaccessory part or the optional intermediate accessory piece compriseswelding the splitter to the accessory part or the optional intermediateaccessory piece.
 4. A method according to claim 1, wherein the step ofproviding the solid connection between the accessory part or theoptional intermediate accessory piece comprises fixing the splitter tothe accessory part or the optional intermediate accessory piece usingscrews.
 5. A method of fixing an accessory part to a wall of a hollowframe in which at least one hole is provided, the wall of the hollowframe having a front surface and an inside surface, the methodcomprising the steps of: providing a fixture set comprising theaccessory part, an optional intermediate accessory piece and fixingmeans for fixing the accessory part to the front surface of the wall,the fixing means comprising:— a bolt having a bolt head and an at leastpartially threaded bolt shaft; a threaded anchor attachable to the atleast partially threaded bolt shaft, the anchor comprising at least tworadially expandable parts having a free end; and a splitter comprisingan opening arranged to receive the at least partially threaded boltshaft, the splitter being arranged to provide at least one wedge surfacefor radially expanding the at least two radially expandable parts of theanchor, the splitter and anchor further comprising mutuallyinterlockable structures for substantially restricting rotation of theanchor relative to the splitter; inserting the at least partiallythreaded bolt shaft through a hole formed in the accessory part and intothe opening in the splitter; mounting the anchor to the bolt shaft withthe splitter interposed between the bolt head and the anchor; axiallyinserting the anchor completely through the hole formed in the wall; atleast partially axially inserting the splitter into the hole formed inthe wall; placing the accessory part against the front surface of thewall; and tightening the bolt by screwing the bolt shaft into theanchor; wherein the step of tightening the bolt comprises:—substantially restricting rotation of the anchor relative to thesplitter by means of the mutually interlockable structures as the boltis tightened within the anchor; restricting rotation of the splitter byproviding a solid connection between the accessory part or the optionalintermediate accessory piece and the splitter; urging the splitter topenetrate the anchor between the at least two radially expandable partsthereof; expanding the at least two radially expandable parts of theanchor using the at least one wedge surface on the splitter until theexpandable parts are at least partially expanded; and locking the anchoragainst the inside surface of the wall due to engagement of the freeends of the expanded anchor parts with the inside surface of the wall.